Union solidarity round-up 3 to 9 February

Read our round-up of union activity in the UK and from around the world, including the Four-Day Week, UK poverty, public sector pay demands and strikes, and exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The benefits of a four-day week are set to become more obvious as 200 companies signed up last week for a permanent move to the arrangement. TimeOut reports that 5,000 employees and managers are likely to enjoy what previous data proved: significantly less burnout, better retention across the various sectors represented, and vastly improved work-life balance.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its latest poverty data last week, showing that more than 1 in 5 people in the UK live in poverty. At the same time, right wing business leaders continue a fearmongering campaign around the government’s employment rights bill. While workers’ rights in the UK are well below those of their European counterparts, the majority of businesses, of all sizes, agree that the bill will improve both living standards and productivity. The Financial Times featured TUC general secretary Paul Nowak’s letter of response.

UK activity

Teaching unions have today (3) rejected Ofsted’s proposed new schools inspection model, saying it retains the elements that make it a danger to staff through stress, rushed processes and generic judgements.

While Unite celebrates a promised 11.1% wage increase for 250 Stagecoach West bus drivers who voted for strike action, there are serious concerns for its members at engineering firm Stellantis’ Luton site which the company is consulting on shutting down.

On Friday (31), Unison, Unite and GMB collectively demanded a £3,000 pay rise and a minimum hourly rate of £15 for the 1.4 million council and school employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They have seen a 25% real-term wage decrease since 2010 and their 2024/25 pay settlements averaged about half of the 5% enjoyed by other public sector workers.

More PCS strike ballots are now underway. 650 union members at the Department for Work and Pensions are being balloted over a range of issues after G4S refused to meet to discuss their demands. After prolonged action last year, hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport are balloting again after managers refused to address their concerns over a new roster system. And tomorrow (4) hundreds of civilian Metropolitan Police staff will commence a two-week strike after bosses threatened to dock their wages in a dispute over flexible working.

Global

The president of US union AFL-CIO has condemned Trump’s union-busting executive order that adversely changes federal government workers' collective bargaining agreements.

And the International Trade Union Confederation has spoken out over the humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo where widespread armed violence and civilian displacement sit alongside systematic exploitation by international corporations of the country’s vast mineral extraction industry.